A Screenless Future Is Closer Than You Think

Somewhere near you is a device with a screen. You can’t live without that device. In fact, you are reading this right now on that—or another—device. Within a few years, the screens that we so depend on today will begin to disappear. After all, we are analog creatures, and we are meant to experience the world without the confining boundaries of two-dimensional screens. What is this “screenless future,” and what tech advancements are being made right now to make it real? Dona Sarkar is experiencing first-hand this new future in her role as principal product manager at HoloLens, working to create and ship the world’s first holographic platform’s SDK. Dona discusses what she’s learned about the future while working with HoloLens at Microsoft and shares her insights and predictions about how technology as we know it will change. Find out why Dona thinks mixed reality, ambient sound, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things will all play dramatic roles in our business and personal lives in the next five years—or possibly sooner.

Dona Sarkar wishes she’d been born a cat so she could have had nine lives. Since that didn’t work out, she decided to live nine lives in this one. Dona spends her days running the Windows Insiders program at Microsoft, celebrating diversity in STEM fields as a fashion blogger at Fibonacci Sequins, and launching her first fashion line called Prima Dona Style this fall. She is the author of six works of fiction and nonfiction, including Scattered Ashes, which was deemed “too controversial” by fifteen publishing imprints! Dona feels very fortunate to have found her life’s calling: to help the next generation of creatives prepare for the technical revolution that's about to transform everything—again. Follow Dona on Twitter.